A Penny for your Thoughts
by Kerrymdb
Summary: A Companion to Seven Times Seven! Ginny has had her second child, another little girl. Molly has decided it is time to come clean about the Sept Fois Sept curse!


"A penny for your thoughts, Mum," Ginny Potter said happily.  
  
That woke Molly Weasley up from her reverie. "What's a penny, dear? Is it like a pensive?" Molly asked curiously.  
  
Ginny laughed easily. "It's a muggle phrase I picked up from Harry," she said, moving her baby daughter Marilla to her other shoulder. "You say it when you want to know what someone is thinking."  
  
Molly shook her head, "I never understand those muggle phrases."  
  
"So what are you thinking about, Mum? I've been giving you fascinating details about every little burp and gurgle little Rilla is making, and you're not paying attention," Ginny said, smiling.  
  
"I was actually thinking about you, dear," Molly said. Ginny had proclaimed to everyone that she and Harry would not have another child. Two girls, a year apart, were plenty. Molly decided that this was the time to tell Ginny about the curse.  
  
Ginny groaned. "What have I done now, mum?" she said.  
  
Molly gave her a look. "Why are you assuming you've done something wrong? Can't I think about my own daughter without you thinking you've been bad?"  
  
Ginny laughed loudly. "Call it twenty-four years of training, Mum!"  
  
Molly stood up from the chair she was sitting in and went to sit at the edge of the bed, next to Ginny. "Have you ever taken a good look at our family tree?" Molly asked innocently.  
  
"A bit. There have been some big families on your side," Ginny said easily.  
  
Molly nodded. "Big families. Families with exactly seven children in them."  
  
"Really? They all have seven children? What are the odds of that happening?" Ginny said, patting Rilla on the head.  
  
Just then, Harry entered the bedroom. "Hiya, Molly," he said. "Thanks for staying with us, Molly. We appreciate it," Harry said.  
  
"You have your hands full getting used to having another baby on your hands. Least I can do is help," Molly scoffed.  
  
Harry sat down in the chair that Molly had been sitting in. "So apparently, your side of the family is really randy, which led to all the kids," Ginny grinned.  
  
"Ginerva," Molly blushed.  
  
"Who's randy?" Harry asked interestedly.  
  
"Mum's side of the family. Mum too, I suppose," Ginny said, trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face.  
  
"Ginerva Molly Weasley Potter!" Molly cried.  
  
"You really do have too many names, love," Harry said to Ginny.  
  
"But how could I drop one? Each one is precious to me," Ginny said.  
  
"I'm trying to tell you a story, Ginny," Molly said finally.  
  
"A story? I love stories! You didn't tell me it was a story. You just asked if I had taken a good look at the family tree. I said 'yes' and then Harry came in..."  
  
"I'm going to tell you a story," Molly said. Just then Rilla started howling.  
  
"I don't think Rilla wants to hear a story," Harry said laughing. Ginny lifted the baby to her shoulder and started rubbing her back. A minute later, Rilla burped loudly and fell asleep.  
  
"You have my complete and utter attention, Mum," Ginny said eagerly.  
  
"Well, dear, right before my fifth year at Hogwarts, my mother sat me down to have a talk," Molly started.  
  
"Grandma will do that," Ginny said. "She does like to talk."  
  
"My mother told me about a curse that had been placed on the women of our family," Molly said slowly.  
  
"Now you really have my attention. Women. Family. Curse," Ginny said.  
  
Molly rather enjoyed being in the spotlight like this. She could remember every detail about the curse on the women. She had found a little snippet about the curse before Ginny had her first child. But then she asked Fleur to look at the book. And Molly had learned a great deal more.  
  
"Over seven hundred years ago, a mother placed the Sept Fois Sept curse on her daughter," Molly told her audience.  
  
"A mother cursed her own daughter?" Harry asked. "That doesn't seem very nice."  
  
Molly shook her head. "The mother's daughter was very modern for her time. She dressed as a man, and went to college. The daughter's goal was to become the Headmistress of Hogwarts. Her mother didn't like that at all. She wanted her daughter to stay at home, like traditional women at the time. So her mother cursed her, and told her that she would be pregnant seven times and have seven children, no more, no less. There would be six boys and one girl.  
  
"The mother thought that this curse would force her daughter into being a model wife and mother, and make her give up her plans. Well, the daughter had seven children. But luckily for her, her husband was modern, and watched the children while she became a professor at Hogwarts."  
  
"She certainly showed her mum who's boss," Ginny said happily.  
  
"Her mother was furious, and then declared that seven times seven generations would have this same curse on the daughters of the family," Molly continued.  
  
Molly could see both Ginny and Harry doing some quick thinking in their heads. "I'm not the fifieth generation," Ginny said. "I can't be, that's almost impossible."  
  
"You are the twenty-fourth generation since the curse began. I am the twenty-third, and I had seven children. Six boys and one girl," Molly said.  
  
"But you were only pregnant six times, Mum. You had the twins," Ginny asked, clearly confused.  
  
A look of pain crossed Molly's face. "I was pregnant seven times, dear. I had a miscarriage between Charlie and Percy," she said softly.  
  
Ginny went to hold Molly's hand, which touched her. "Oh, Mum," Ginny said, "I can't even image how hard that must have been."  
  
Molly nodded, "It was hard at the time. But if I had that child, I wouldn't have had the twins. And I know this will sound sentimental, but I simply can't envision my world without them," Molly said.  
  
"You're actually admitting that if you had to do it all over again, you would still have the twins?" Ginny asked, mouth open, but her eyes were smiling.  
  
Just then, the doorbell rang. "That'll be Ron and Hermione," Harry said, jumping up. "Stop the story until they come in. They'll want to hear it too."  
  
There was a cry from the other room. "Lily," Ginny muttered. "I thought Harry was going to make sure she was asleep."  
  
"Don't worry dear. I'll bring her in here," Molly said standing up. She walked into the nursery room and saw Lily, with her mop of red hair, standing up in her crib, holding onto the bars.  
  
Molly picked her up gently. She looked just like Ginny did when she was a baby. Except she had Harry's eyes. Lily started to fuss until she saw her cousin Nora, Ron and Hermione's little girl, who was two months younger than Lily. Molly gently placed Lily down on the bed next to Nora. The two girls seemed to be able to communicate even though neither one could speak yet.  
  
"Why did Grandma curse you, Mum?" Ron asked worried. "Bloody Hell, I didn't think Grandma had it in her."  
  
"Ron, don't swear," Hermione said sternly. "Especially not in front of the children."  
  
"Sorry," Ron said sheepishly.  
  
"Grandma didn't curse Mum," Ginny corrected, giggling. "Our great times gazillion grandmother cursed her own daughter."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Molly cleared her throat. "If I may..."  
  
"Go on Molly," Harry said. "The story was just getting good."  
  
"The curse says that the mother will tell her daughter that she must live her life at home, to prepare for her large family," Molly continued.  
  
"Your mother told you to stay at home?" Hermione asked, horrified.  
  
Molly nodded. "I wanted to be an Enforcer. But once I heard of my fate, I choose not to pursue that career path."  
  
Everyone in the room looked at Molly strangely.  
  
"You wanted to be an Enforcer?" Ron asked in an odd voice.  
  
"You would have made an amazing Enforcer," Harry said.  
  
Ginny giggled. "Maybe you have lightened up on us if you had criminals to yell at all day long!"  
  
"Ginny!" Hermione said.  
  
"It's true!" Ginny was laughing so hard now that Harry jumped up and took Rilla from her arms.  
  
"Can't you see it? 'How dare you steal that money! What your poor mother must be thinking?'" Ginny cried, holding her sides.  
  
"Can you image her questioning a suspect?" Ron asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.  
  
Molly waited patiently while the four finished laughing. "I have no doubt in my mind I would have made a great Enforcer if I had chosen that way of life," Molly said with dignity.  
  
"Mum, don't think we're not agreeing with you!" Ginny said, finally catching her breath.  
  
"The point is that when I learned of the curse, I changed my future plans, thinking I had to," Molly continued.  
  
Suddenly, the room became quiet. "Did you not want us?" Ron asked softly.  
  
"Don't ever think that, Ronald Weasley," Molly scolded. "I love each and everyone of you."  
  
"It's true," Ginny added. "Right before you got here, Mum was saying she'd even have the twins again if she had a second chance."  
  
"Wow," Ron said. "Even the twins?"  
  
"A few years later, your father and I got married. Just a few months before we wed, I knew I had to tell him about the curse," Molly said.  
  
Harry let out a low whistle. "How'd Arthur take that news?"  
  
"Very well. I don't think he really believed me at first," Molly conceded.  
  
"I can't even image Ginny coming to me and telling me that," Harry said.  
  
"Ten years later, Ginny was born," Molly said, as Ginny gave a mock bow. "When I held her in my arms for the first time, I promised myself that I would never tell her about the curse."  
  
"Why?" Ginny asked simply.  
  
Molly got up and went to sit next to her only daughter. "Because I wanted you to have a choice, dear," Molly said, taking Ginny's hand. "From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that you were special, that you would be able to do anything you set your mind too. I didn't want you tied down, changing your dreams because of a curse."  
  
Ginny squeezed Molly's hand. "Thank you," she said softly.  
  
"Arthur begged me to tell you about the curse during your sixth year. But this was just after you announced you wanted to be a professional quidditch player. I couldn't do it. I knew that it would stop your career even before it started," Molly said.  
  
Ginny smiled brightly, "I should be on the team again in about six months."  
  
"Could you say that if you knew you were going to have five more children?" Molly asked.  
  
Ginny shook her head. "No, I don't think I could."  
  
"I didn't realize it at the time, but not telling you about the curse, was exactly the way to break the curse. By letting you follow your own dreams, not the dreams of a delusional fourteenth century matiriach, I was able to break the curse," Molly said proudly.  
  
"I know I didn't seem exactly happy when you announced you were pregnant with Lily," Molly continued, "But that was because I thought you were stuck with the curse. I wasn't even sure if the curse was broken until Harry came out and said you had a girl."  
  
Ginny leaned back into her pillows. "So the curse is for sure broken? Rilla won't have to worry about having six boys and one girl?" Ginny asked worriedly.  
  
Molly nodded. "It's broken," she said simply.  
  
"Amazing that a curse could be broken so easily," Hermione said.  
  
"Says the girl who would rather look in book after book for a complicated answer," Ron said jokingly, pulling Hermione into his lap.  
  
Harry suddenly stood up and kneeled before Molly. He took her hands in his and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you for breaking the curse."  
  
"Are you saying you wouldn't want five more children?" Ginny asked throwing a pillow at Harry's head.  
  
Harry stood up and sat on the other side of Ginny, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm saying that I am completely satisfied with my wife and my two beautiful daughters. What more could a man want?" Harry said, kissing Ginny on the cheek.  
  
"Good save," Ron joked.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Molly dusted herself off after her brief trip through the floo network. She looked over and saw Arthur in the kitchen wearing an apron.  
  
"What are you doing, dear?" Molly asked worriedly.  
  
"You had a long week, helping Ginny. I thought I'd cook you dinner," Arthur said proudly.  
  
Molly automatically went to the cupboard and put on an apron. "No, no, no, love. I've been very careful. Everything will be perfect. Go sit down and get us a glass of wine," Arthur told her.  
  
Hestintly, Molly untied the apron and hung it back up. She chose a bottle of white wine and poured them each a glass. Sitting down at the kitchen table, she watched Arthur cook. It looked like he was making chicken fingers and mashed potatoes. Molly smiled at the wonderful gesture.  
  
Molly filled Arthur in on how the new baby was doing. They both got a giggle from Molly's description of her telling Ginny about the curse.  
  
"Dinner is served!" Arthur said happily. They feasted on the chicken fingers, which even Molly had to admit wasn't as bad as she was expecting.  
  
"Maybe I'll have to cook more often," Arthur suggested.  
  
"Maybe," Molly said slowly.  
  
After dinner, they both brought a dish of peach ice cream up to the roof- top terrance of their London apartment. The first thing Molly always did was give a small wave in the direction of the Burrow. She had no worries though. She knew that Ron and Hermione would treat the place well.  
  
Molly sat on a bench and gazed up at the stars. Arthur sat next to her and put his arms around her. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to the lack of stars out here," Molly said softly.  
  
Arthur looked up. "There's Orion," he said. "And there's the Big Dipper. The stars are still here.  
  
"Just hiding, I guess," Molly said softly.  
  
Arthur held her tighter and kissed her so gently, that Molly could taste the peach ice cream still on his lips.  
  
"Thank you," Molly said, pressing her hand against his cheek.  
  
"For what?" Arthur said, smiling.  
  
"I'm not sure," Molly admitted. "For just being you, I guess."  
  
Arthur brought her in for another kiss, this time more passionate. When the kiss was done, they sat there, in silence, holding each other, eating ice cream and watching the stars.  
  
Finally, Molly broke the silence. "A penny for your thoughts, love."  
  
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**A/N – I have no idea if anyone is interested, but I actually did go through and plan everyone's babies and grandbabies. I thought people might like a break down of who had what.  
  
Bill and Fleur - 2 kids, Jean-Luc Arthur (Johnny) and Theresa Margo  
  
Charlie and Danya – 7 kids, Boris John, Natasha Fiona, Mikhail Richard, Vladamir Edward, Peter Logan, Elena Katherine and Dmitri Robert  
  
Percy and Penelope – Percivel Jr. (to who ever left the review about Percy's name, I say Percy's real name is Percivel. I can see Percy being the type of man who would name his son after himself. Just my opinion) and Mary Jane  
  
Fred and Angelina – Wulfrina Dorothy (Rina), Albus George and Donna Rose  
  
George and Alicia – Bilius Fred (Bill) and Jean Margaret  
  
Ron and Hermione – Nora Allison  
  
Harry and Ginny – Lily Ginerva and Marilla Blanche  
  
Thank you for reading! To my wonderful reviews, thank you for all of your encouragement.**


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